Writers: Caroline Deruas-Garrel, Stéphane Freiss and Audrey Gordon
Director: Stéphane Freiss
One might assume religious faith has secular as well as spiritual benefits, offering a sense of community from socialising with people who share your beliefs. Esther Zelnik (Lou de Laâge), the central character of Where Life Begins finds her community is becoming so stifling as to force her to reconsider her faith. But, as she defines herself by her faith, Esther must challenge her entire purpose of life.
Esther is part of an ultra-orthodox Jewish family from Aix-les-Bains in France who make an annual pilgrimage to a farm in Calabria, Italy, to harvest lemons which, in accordance with their beliefs, have been blessed by an angel. Esther, unmarried at 26 years of age, is something of a disappointment to her parents who are prepared to marry her off to someone she does not love. Ostracised by her non-Jewish workmates and frustrated by the strict social limitations of her faith Esther is pushed to a crisis point.
Esther breaks the prohibition against unaccompanied unmarried women entering the home of a man and asks farm owner Elio De Angelis (Riccardo Scamarcio) if she can use his computer. Although lapsed catholic Elio does not share the family’s faith, he respects their discipline as it accords with his reverence for tradition. He is shocked to see Esther is logging onto an online forum to share the experiences of people who have lost their faith. Esther’s need to experience life outside of her faith pushes her towards Elio who is tormented by the failure of his marriage and the fact his children prefer an urban lifestyle to his rural existence.
Director Stéphane Freiss (who contributed to the screenplay with Caroline Deruas-Garrel and Audrey Gordon) takes a restrained dignified approach to a subject that could easily become melodramatic. There are no obvious villains, Esther’s parents are motivated by what they feel is the right course of action. Her mother has eyes closed in bliss as she contemplates her daughter married and raising children who will respect God.
Yet the claustrophobia is overwhelming. The insular nature of the family is apparent in scenes of them engaged in intense theological discussions. No one has any small talk or distractions like reading books or enjoying the countryside and Esther’s graceful sister dances alone as if it is a shameful act.
Lou de Laâge has one full rant pouring out the anger, resentment and hurt felt by Esther but in the main emotions in Where Life Begins are expressed with subtlety. In one remarkable scene Esther describes how she succumbed to temptation and entered a cinema and her subsequent guilt and anxiety but, as her anecdote unfolds, the camera moves leisurely around a family dinner gradually coming closer to Lou de Laâge’s face which shows her to be just about holding in hysterical screams of frustration. Esther is so accustomed to seeking answers from God she ironically prays to find a way to betray Him and for the strength to leave her faith.
Elio can sympathise with Esther as he has already made a life-changing decision but, as Riccardo Scamarcio’s smouldering tormented performance shows, is aware the choice has impacted upon other people than himself. The relationship between Esther and Elio brings to mind the tightly controlled eroticism of Witness. They are attracted to each other but aware of the consequences, in a highly charged moment their appeal is so strong the couple cannot resist holding hands through the mechitza which divides the sexes in a place of worship.
In accordance with the tone of the film the humour is bone-dry. The family, unknowingly, share transport with a concealed statue of a catholic saint. As Esther contemplates posting a letter confessing her doubts she is overlooked by a poster of a pig- unclean in Jewish faith. Ritual prayers are said despite the distractions of farm animals in the background. In a tribute to It Happened One Night Elio respects Esther’s need to avoid being seen with a man by using boxes of plants to construct a ‘wall of Jericho’ between them.
With a pair of engaging protagonists and a mood of underlying passion filmed against a ravishing rural background Where Life Begins shows everything that life has to offer and the limitations which we impose upon ourselves.
The UK Jewish Film Festival 2022 takes place in cinemas nationwide from 10 – 20 November, and online from 21-27 November.
